Stargate Atlantis: Pandora's Box
by the morrighan
Summary: The second half of my version of a season six. This is the sixth story.
1. Chapter 1

Stargate Atlantis: Pandora's Box

"John? John, is this…"

Rodney McKay's voice faded into the absolute silence and stillness. Behind the team the wormhole winked out of existence. The air was stale and there was a pervasive cold that wrapped around them. The Gate room was bathed in hues of greens and blues and smothered by shadows, but a groan of weak power flitted and sporadically illuminated the room and the rooms beyond that could be dimly seen.

"Turnog," John Sheppard answered quietly, shining his P90 light across the walls.

"Tir na nOg," Moira O'Meara corrected, casting a glance at the military commander. He met her gaze, scowling but humor glinted in his green eyes.

"Whatever it is called can we activate the systems?" Teyla Emmagan asked. She stared round, feeling a sense of unease that she couldn't explain. The city felt like a cave which could be concealing a slumbering monster.

"We're underwater?" Ronon Dex asked, as the team progressed out of the 'Gate room. The quiet was eerie and getting under his skin.

"Yes, just like Atlantis was," Rodney explained, eyes on his scanner as they climbed the stairs to the control room. "I'm reading minimal power and before you ask yes I can boost it a little but I won't know how much until I activate the controls. Here."

The team crowded round the consoles. John touched one and it flared briefly, responding. Rodney's fingers played over the keyboards. Screens rose to flicker and provide information. The reactions were sluggish. The city had been asleep for a long, long time.

"How long has it been underwater?" Teyla asked, shining her P90 light into the shadows and across the distances. Nothing moved. Her light created shadows along the walls, ghostly images that came and went as the illumination scoured the darkness.

"Thousands of years," John answered. "Bring up a schematic of the city. We know that one section is missing and one is damaged. Locate any power sources and ZPMs and bring up the environmental controls. And see if there is any mention of Gorias 'cause that's the section we need. And locate the Ancient Chair, although I think I remember where that is." He rubbed his temple briefly, although no headache was bothering him.

"Anything else? Lunch, perhaps?" Rodney snapped.

"Yeah, lunch would be nice too," John quipped. He smiled at the glaring physicist and glanced round to see Teyla and Ronon searching the perimeter and the rooms beyond. "Don't go too far, people. We need to stick together." He watched Moira as she stood near a console, staring round at a loss. He smiled. "O'Meara."

Moira turned and stepped to him. "There's no Irish writing that I can see."

"Just stay close in case there is." John touched her arm briefly, a furtive caress that made her briefly smile at him. He looked back at the screens. "Ah." He studied the schematic of the city. "So of these three…which one is Gorias?"

"I don't know. They didn't label them," Rodney replied. "I can get power levels up a little, but the city is still locked in slumber. It will take a real jolt to reactivate it if we want to do that. Wait, do we want to do that?"

"Possibly. Do you think we can fly her?"

"What? No! Not with a whole section gone and another severely damaged! Wait, make that two sections damaged."

"Two? Wonderful," John muttered, frowning at the schematics.

"Besides, I thought our mission was to locate this thing, whatever it is that they stole," Rodney resumed.

"Yes, because it is important to the fuglies."

"The Homo erectus, and you realize this thing could be anything," Moira warned.

John met her gaze. "I know. But it still gives us leverage." He looked back at the screen. He touched the console, concentrating. The connection was sluggish but it was there and he felt the city responding to his ATA gene. "There." He touched the screen and one section became illuminated. "This is Gorias. Let's move out!"

"How did you…fine. You know that every second we are here we are draining what remaining power and life support there is," Rodney warned.

"I know. But she's got more power. We just gotta find it. This way." John led the team out of the control room.

"The Shield's been holding back the water and the pressure for years, John, and just like Atlantis it will give way as we drain more power, even a minimal amount. But unlike Atlantis this city is not intact and is damaged so when the Shield does give way the results could be—"

"Catastrophic, I know, but we can juice her up before then, don't worry. I have a few ideas but first let's locate this thingy, all right?"

"Thingy?" Teyla asked with a smile. Ronon shook his head.

The team descended to the lower levels. The air was staler here and the temperature was dropping. The weight of the ocean and the pressure could almost be felt against the walls. The lights were dull flickers and waves of illumination turned everything a ghostly green as they passed windows.

"Hold up." John raised his hand, halting the team. "It's wet here." He shone his light onto the floor. A thin sheen of water reflected back at him. Part of the floor was buckling and it was uneven. "Is it safe?"

"For now," Rodney said, checking his scanner. "But I wouldn't want to spend all day here."

"All right. Let's get this thingy and go." He led the team along the uneven floor. Water swished under their feet. There were scorch marks on the walls and the damage had never been repaired. "This part must have sustained damage during the descent," he mused.

"Hold up!" Rodney exclaimed and the team stopped again. "I'm reading some environmental fluctuations. The water hasn't breeched yet but power is at a bare minimum here."

"Is the air breathable?" John asked.

"Yes…but there is less oxygen."

"Great. Okay, let's make this quick." John gestured and they proceeded down a hallway. "Here." John led them into a room and paused.

It was utter chaos. Heavily damaged it bore blackened scorch marks and one wall was shattered, giving way to the next room that was plunged into darkness. There were brown stains on the floor which John took to be blood, aged for centuries to this creepy patina, a last testament to those who had died here. There were no bodies. The floor was dry but water was weeping along one wall, a bleeding eruption of tiny drops falling to the floor.

"Easy now." John stepped to one of the consoles and touched it. He grimaced as the power fluctuated, gasping like a living being taking its last breath. John could feel the pain of the city, the injuries as vivid now as they had been during the attack. He concentrated but the console was too damaged to give him much of anything.

"ZPM is nearly depleted," Rodney remarked, squatting to view the dilapidated device as it flickered. "They must have pulled it out to save what they could of this section."

"Or to protect whatever is here," Ronon replied. He was staring round at the damage, shaking his head. "I don't see any treasure."

"Perhaps it was destroyed," Teyla suggested. She eyed the wall where the water was collecting in tiny, tiny drops and felt a shiver.

"John, er, Colonel Sheppard." Moira was standing at the threshold to another room and was shining a flashlight into it.

John stepped to her, stood behind her. "What is it?"

"Look." Her flashlight danced across a jumble of machines and equipment and one large container in the center. "I can't be certain but that marking…"

John squinted, shining his P90 light across it. "I'll be damned…that's it." Moira began to step through but John halted her. "Whoa there, Moira. I'll take point. Stay behind me." John stepped over the crumbled threshold and into the other room. "Looks like a damaged Podium," he remarked, stepping carefully round the piles of debris.

"Did you find it?" Rodney asked. He quickly followed after Moira.

"Stop!"

At John's order all froze.

"John?" Moira asked, standing near the wreckage of a console.

"Water. And it's leaking badly. Stay there! This area is highly unstable. I'll get the thingy and we can go." The floor lurched under his feet. "Crap."

"Make it fast, John! The city's trying to power up and it's only weakening what little stability is down here!" Rodney warned.

John swore and made his way round the debris to the container. One side was smashed and he squatted. "It's empty. What the hell? The…oh." He shone his light and stared. There was a smaller container within the larger one, tipped onto its side. Something within it caught the light and reflected it back to John like a prism.

"John? John, what is it?" Rodney demanded, poised to aid his friend if needed.

"Is it a weapon?" Ronon asked, trying to see into the murky darkness of the room.

"Do you need aid, colonel?" Teyla asked.

"John?" Moira ignored his order and made her way to him. Water was seeping around her shoes and she felt a shiver as the cold was sharper here. "John?" She touched his shoulder, peering into the container as well.

John nearly jumped at her touch but the warmth of her fingers made him relax. "Well, it's certainly no Holy Grail," he quipped.

"It's certainly no Gae Assail either," she noted softly, leaning over him to peer into the darkness of the containers.

"What is it?" Rodney swore and made his way to them, impatient. "What is it?"

"Have a look," John invited, moving slightly to make room for his friend.

Rodney squatted and stared as the flashlights played across a small item. He stared. He shook his head. He opened his mouth but no words came, a rare occurrence for the normally voluble physicist. Finally he looked at John who met his gaze. "We're risking our lives for this? We came all this way for a paperweight?"


	2. Chapter 2

Stargate Atlantis: Pandora's Box2

The floor bucked. There was a hissing sound and a spray of cold water misted the air.

"Time to go! I'll grab the whatever and—"

"Stop!" Rodney's warning halted John in mid-reach. "I'm detecting a sizeable energy reading!"

"From that?" John pointed at the object, disbelief on his handsome face. He glanced up to see Moira staring at it, worry in her brown eyes.

"Rodney! More water is seeping through!" Teyla called. She glanced down to where it was sloshing coldly over her feet. The air was thicker and it was getting harder to breathe normally.

"I know! The Shield is failing here! John, wait! I'm reading serious energy levels, possibly radioactive!"

"What?" John stumbled backwards, knocking into Moira.

Rodney moved to his knees in front of the container, ignoring the water. "It's…no, that's not possible!"

"What's not possible?" John asked. "Rodney!"

"It's a…it's a Penning trap!" Rodney exclaimed, stunned amazement on his face. He stared at the object and eyed his scanner again.

"A what?" John asked, mystified.

"I'll explain later! Shut that thing up in the smaller container! It's heavily shielded and the magnetic field will stabilize the atoms!"

"The what?" Nevertheless John scooted forward and touched the sides of a smaller container that was surrounding the object. He slammed the pieces into place then removed the smaller container with both hands. It was oddly warm. "Let's go! Go!" He shoved Moira ahead of him as a groaning wail filled the air and the walls bent inwards, giving way to the enormous pressure as the Shield flickered and failed.

Rodney ran through the opening, jumping over the debris in the threshold. Moira followed, nearly tripping in her haste. John was on her heels.

"Go, go, go!" he shouted, and the team ran up the hallway.

A tremendous screech followed them as the wall gave way and water poured into the section of the city. The wave was huge, smashing everything in its path. A flood of water poured out and chased the hapless team down the hallway, cresting higher and higher as if it was a giant hand about to crush them.

The city spun and careened, tilting so badly that the team were flung to the right side and hit the wall, trying to keep their balance. The lights blinked and were gone. The water was a roaring monster at their backs and it was difficult to take a deep breath.

Soon it would be impossible to take any breaths.

"Go, go, go, climb, climb!" John shouted, pushing Moira ahead of him with one hand, as he clutched the container under his other arm. He tried to hold it above his waist, recalling Rodney's warning of radiation.

"Here, here! The stairs!" Ronon called, whirling and pulling Teyla up them. He pulled Rodney up, then Moira, then finally John. "Down!" he shouted and the team crouched on the stairs.

The water roared towards them, a towering wave that sprayed them with sea water before falling backwards as the city tilted once more. The water receded, rushing back the way it had come but it would soon be back. Doors sluggishly closed, locking off the doomed section of the city.

John brushed water off his face, wishing he had brought his surfboard. He turned. "Let's move! To the control room. We haven't much time!"

"Really, you think?" Rodney snapped, but quickly followed his teammates up the stairs and across the hallways. The city was listing, moaning. An alarm bleeped weakly. "It's still trying to activate power and that's what's causing the Shield to fail!"

"Can't you stop it?" Ronon asked.

"No! I don't have any of the command codes and besides, it's activating because we are here! Because you are here!" He pointed an accusatory finger at John.

"Why isn't it rising like Atlantis?" Teyla asked.

"It's too damaged! We have to get to the Gate now!" Rodney ordered.

"You'll get no argument from me!" Ronon agreed.

"We still need to salvage the city! I can fly it outta here, well, what's left of it!"

"What? Are you crazy?" Rodney demanded. All stopped and turned to look at John as if he had lost his mind.

"Listen to me. Take this," he thrust the box into Ronon's arms, "and get back to Atlantis. If I jettison the extraneous parts of the city she'll fly. Trust me!"

"No! It won't fly! We have to get out now, John, before we drown here!" Rodney argued.

"We have what we came for so we can leave now!" Teyla agreed, shaking her head.

"Dial the Gate! Do it! If this doesn't work you can come back for me!" John insisted, gesturing towards the consoles. He strode to one and began to dial Atlantis. "Fine! Get down there and take that thing back to Atlantis! If I can't get her airborne I will be right behind you! GO!" he bellowed as the KAWOOSH exploded from the Stargate.

"John, this is crazy! You can't possibly fly the city, even if all you have left is the core section! The odds of success are astronomically low and you won't be able to—"

"Never tell me the odds!" John snapped, but he flashed a grin at Moira as she caught the Star Wars reference and smiled. "I can do this! Trust me! Get back to Atlantis! That's a direct order! Moira, I need you to stay here with me."

"Of course, John." She stepped to him, curious, worried, but confident in his abilities.

"What? John, you can't possibly—"

"If I can't get it up we'll be right behind you." He glanced at Moira and quietly added, "And so far, baby, that hasn't been an issue, right?"

"So far," she said softly, trying not to laugh.

He winked at her and stepped round the console. "Go before we all drown! Rodney, once you get to Atlantis I need you and Reynolds to get a Jumper in the air and keep an eye out for us."

"You truly believe that you can do this?" Teyla asked. She wasn't sure if she should believe John or not. He seemed to be behaving irrationally but more like himself.

"Yes. I wouldn't risk it otherwise now would I? We'll keep the 'Gate active in case I can't get her airborne. Now go! We're wasting time talking!"

"We're going." Ronon headed for the Stargate, carrying the box under one arm. "Let's go! You heard Sheppard! If he says he can do it he can do it!"

"John, if you are absolutely certain…" Teyla still hesitated. She looked at Rodney. The physicist was standing at a console, bringing up a schematic and his fingers flew on the keys.

"It is possible, in theory and it would conserve the Shield energy plus the power needed for the Star Drives…but it's risky, John, and with a damaged ship you might have a hell of a re-entry when you break atmosphere over Atlantis, provided you make it that far. Here. I'll input the preliminary sequences but you will have to talk the city through it."

The city tilted and another alarm bleeped weakly.

"Then we better make it now or never. Get going, Rodney. If it doesn't work we'll be right behind you, I promise." John waited, waited, until at last the physicist nodded and hastened with Teyla to the Stargate where Ronon was standing. John watched his team go into the wormhole. He took Moira's hand. "Let's go, Moira. I'm gonna have to go real deep into the city so I might need you to pull me out."

"All right, John. I've got your back."

He smiled. "I know that you do. This way." He led her quickly down to the Ancient Chair. This room was still mostly intact and no water had penetrated. John drew her to the Chair and slid onto it. Immediately it reclined and power surged with a violent rush of lights and noises. "Just stand right here, Moira, okay? Um…I might say some weird things but I won't be talking to you. I'll be talking to the city."

"All right, John. Relax."

He nodded, closed his eyes and let the interface of man and machine commence. It was a smooth transition, stronger somehow and he flexed his fingers on the controls. "Okay, baby, let's get you outta here. First we need to get rid of all extraneous and damaged sections. We only need that sweet center, baby. The heart of the operation."

Moira smirked. "Gee, John…are you sure you are just talking to the city?"

"Hush! Here we go. Hold onto the Chair, Moira. It's gonna get bumpy."

The city rocked. There was a violent crash and Moira clung to the Chair. Power roared and she almost released it but John's hand clamped onto her arm, keeping her in place. Alarms were chiming and the floor seemed to tip sideways under them.

"Come on, baby, you can do it! I'm going to save you." Beads of sweat were lining John's brow as he concentrated, forcing his will over the AI's and unlocking each section of the city to leave the central core alone. The Shield retracted, retracted and the ZPMs were blinding flashes of orange light. He tensed as the power seemed to weigh him down, to press upon him and trap him like it had the last time, but this time he was in control and he fought it, forcing it to bend and wrap the city's core in a protective cocoon.

"John?" Moira leaned close, trying to free her arm. "John, can you hear me?"

John was wincing as pain flared but he ignored it, fighting it as he disengaged the city core. Power was a rush, like liquid fire and he groaned, grunted, body twisting in the Chair. "Here we go now. You can do this, baby! Let's get out of the water and into the sky! Activating Star Drives and the alternate hyper…"

"John!" Moira yanked her arm free and grabbed his shoulder, shaking him. A thin spurt of blood was seeping from his nose. "John, let go! John, you have to let it go!"

"No! I can do this! We need this city to save ours! To save Atlantis! I can save this one!"

"No, John, you can't! It's too late! But you can save yourself. You can save me. You can save Atlantis without this one! John, please!" He didn't seem to hear her as he shifted on the Chair, seemingly lost in the matrix of the AI and the city. His muscles were flexing, straining and a little more blood was leaking from his nose. "John? John, can you hear me?" Moira ducked as the floor spun under her and the city was screaming, whining as if caught in a tornado. She leaned over John as the ceiling began to shake and pieces were falling around them.

"John! John, wake up! John! John, let it go!"

Her voice was lost in the cacophony of the dying city.


	3. Chapter 3

Stargate Atlantis: Pandora's Box3

John was running, running, or so it felt to him as his muscles ached, his heart raced and the blood was pounding, pounding in his veins. Sections of the city were falling all around him. Waves were crashing, huge torrents of water that engulfed section after section as the pieces drowned while the city's core rose. John stood in the control room, hands glued to the console as he guided the city up, up, keeping the Shield intact and engaging the weary Star Drives for one final flight.

"John, you can't do this."

John looked over at the female voice. "Moira, no, I can! I can do…oh. Oh crap!" The woman wasn't Moira. The woman wasn't a woman at all as she glimmered in and out of his vision. Her clothes were tattered and there were bruises on her face, on her arms. She collapsed to the floor as blood began to seep from her pale, pale skin. "Moira!" he cried, rushing to her, forgetting that she was just a personification of the city in his mind and not his Moira. The floor veered under him and he fell hard, banging his knees.

"John!" called another voice, one closer to his ear but he ignored it, scrambling to the woman on the floor in front of him, the one who resembled Moira but wasn't Moira at all, he assured himself as he saw her wounds becoming worse before his eyes. He realized he was doing this to her, to the city. Her limbs were becoming translucent as section by section was being jettisoned to save the inner core.

"I can save you! I need you to help me protect Atlantis! I can fly you outta here and use you!"

"No, John. It's too late for me. You must save yourself and save her. Save Atlantis, John. I haven't the strength to go there."

"No, I can save you! I can! I have to save you! It's the only…only…" John began to cough and cough as light and noise infiltrated his brain in an unbearable wave. He hunched over as pain assaulted him. "No, no, I have to do this!" he snarled through gritted teeth. He staggered to his feet and returned to the console, callously dumping her body onto the floor. She wasn't real in any case but still he felt a whisper of remorse. He ignored it. "Here we go!"

John shook his head at a voice near his ear, concentrating on guiding the city. The power was a rush in him as he fought past pain and despair, past the image of the woman broken and battered on the floor to raise the city's core out of the water. His hands were splayed on the console and he could feel every vibration, every rupture as pieces broke and connections unlocked.

"John, please stop…please…"

He glanced at the woman on the floor. She was coughing blood and John forced himself to ignore her, to remember that she wasn't Moira but a simulation that the city was using. "No," he said through gritted teeth. "You are coming with me, baby, and together we will save Atlantis from the fuglies, the ones you brought upon us!"

He stared at the screen as information flickered and flitted across in a language he couldn't read. He swore, but it didn't matter as he could see the sections falling away from the city core and he could feel them as well. He swayed, feeling dizzy and drained but stubbornly continued to drive the city up, up through the ocean waves.

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"John? John, can you hear me?" Moira gently wiped the military commander's face with a damp cloth. The nosebleed had stopped, which had to be a good thing, but he was still unresponsive. He was sweating and tense in the Chair, locked in a battle with which she was wholly unfamiliar. She cooled his brow, leaning close and checked his pulse. It was strong but a little too fast.

Moira glanced round the gloomy room. The city was still wobbling. Horrific groans from the crashing machinery echoed like living screams. The lights flickered and cast the Chair in shades of ghostly green. The floor seemed to tip and sway and she clung to the Chair for support. Water was trickling into the room and across the floor.

"John? John, let it go! John, talk to me!" She wondered how to rouse him from the intense connection. She was tempted to slap him but didn't want to risk harming him. Instead she shook his arm. She shook it again. "John! John, talk to me!"

A sudden rush sent her sprawling on top of him and she cried out as the city was spinning like a top. She righted herself and stared in wonder at the windows. Water was pouring, pouring down them like tears, but the sun was shining as at last the city core broke free of the waves. With a tremendous shove it soared free, displacing a massive amount of water that plumed around it and headed away from it.

"John! You did it! John, John, you…oh no!"

Moira's joy was short-lived as she turned back to the military commander. John was locked in a tense pose in the Chair, eyes squinted shut, hands all but glued to the arm pad. When she checked his pulse it was racing, racing and his head lolled to one side.

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John grunted, swore and nearly fell against the console. The city broke through the waves, wailing like a banshee but the core was intact and functioning. John looked up to see sunlight instead of water against the windows. "There! I did it! I knew I could do it!" He glanced at the floor where the battered body of the woman had been, but it was gone. "Oh." He winced as pain lacerated his head and he crumpled against the console. "No, no no no! You are going to fly, damn it, even if it kills me!" he vowed. A voice was buzzing around his ear and he tried to ignore it. "No! Give me all that you got, baby! Shields at maximum and up we go!"

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Moira sighed, trying not to panic. She grasped an arm of the Chair with both hands, closing her eyes and concentrating. "John? John, can you hear me? If you can't hear me maybe you can feel me?" She frowned, as a weird sensation tickled along her skin, as her ATA joined with the city. She tried to project her concerns, her emotions around John, trying to direct all her feelings for him into a protective cocoon to embrace him and support him.

She felt dizzy but kept concentrating, even as she felt the city stuttering with power. The floor was vibrating and there was a weird sense of vertigo as the city wobbled on the water, then began to rise. The city was becoming a ship, a space ship at last.

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John jerked, blinking and straightened. "Moira?" He looked round but didn't see her. He concentrated on the controls, locking the power into place and guiding the city into flight. He felt warmth around him, a strange softness that lent him strength and support. The scent of vanilla tickled his nose and he smiled, realizing it had to be Moira. Somehow she was connecting with him through the city. He eyed the controls, the screens and blinked again.

He was still standing there. He knew he was in the Ancient Chair, flying the city, but he was also here, standing in the control room in a virtual simulation of the city. He grunted, shaking his head and trying to force himself back into reality.

He knew he couldn't fly the ship this way. Not all the way to Atlantis.

"Okay, baby, let me go now. I'll guide you safely to Atlantis, all right? Let me go. Let me go!"

A warning chime drew his attention and he eyed the screens. Power levels were dangerously high, and climbing. The ship veered and wobbled and shook violently as it broke atmosphere.

"Crap! I really need to be in the Chair now with those star charts, all right? Let me go! Let me go, damn it!"

"I'll never let you go, John," a voice croaked.

John's heart thudded as he looked up to see a woman standing near. She didn't look like Moira anymore. Instead she looked like something out of a nightmare, a banshee come to life to keep him trapped here forever. Water dripped from her tangled hair and torn garments. She raised one arm towards him and pointed. Flesh was dropping off the limb in globs.

"No, you're not real! You can't hurt me! Let me go so I can fly you to Atlantis!"

Unfortunately John was very wrong. He was trapped in her world.

And in her world she could hurt him.

And she did.


	4. Chapter 4

Stargate Atlantis: Pandora's Box4

Moira jolted as John cried out, voice strangling in pain and agony. His body writhed so wildly on the Chair that he knocked Moira aside. She spun and fell heavily onto the floor, smacking her jaw on the way down. She cried out in pain but scrambled to her feet, scrambled back to him.

"John! John, John, let go! John!" She grabbed the Chair again but the connection was gone, was being blocked by something cold and wet and Moira shivered. She glanced out the window where the darkness of space loomed. The Shield was holding but it was a pinkish stain that glittered ominously. There was a low whining sound and the lights grew dimmer, dimmer. Even the lights on the Chair were fading and flickering. "John!"

Moira shook him again, hard but he was unresponsive, locked in some battle of his own. Blood was dripping from his nose again and sweat was a wash on his face, his body. She wiped the blood away, cooling his brow and his neck. His pulse was racing, racing wildly. "No! John! John, come back to me! John!" She pondered how to penetrate the connection.

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John wished he had remembered that old adage about a woman scorned. He was flung from the console and landed hard on the floor, sliding and slamming into the wall. He felt blood spurting from his nose and wiped it away, scrambling for his gun but it was gone. He stared as the hideous apparition advanced, leaving a trail of rotting flesh and water behind it.

"I'm sorry! You were dying anyway! I couldn't save you but you can help me save Atlantis!"

He held up his arms but was slashed across the face anyway, violently flung into another wall by unseen forces. He groaned as pain erupted and his heart was pounding so fast he was certain it would pop out of his chest. He scrambled to his knees, sloshing in water and the city was spinning under him. Alarms were screaming and when he chanced a glance out of the window the darkness of space glowered through a Shield that was winking wildly.

"Crap," he muttered, looking back at the advancing horror and braced himself for what could very well be the last thing he would feel.

"Pink."

John shook his head at the voice near his ear, concentrating on evading the apparition as it raised one bony arm towards him. A cough took him and he doubled over with it, as light and noise infiltrated his brain in an unbearable wave.

"Pale, pale pink, very sheer, plunging, with tiny blue roses along the lace." The voice was breathy, warm, so close to his ear it tickled. Then wetness as a tongue licked along his ear. Then a gentle pressure as his earlobe and neck were nibbled. At the same time a hand was groping him most intimately, sending a cascade of pleasure to wash over him.

John groaned, not with pain but with arousal as he suddenly was torn out of one scenario and thrust into reality; back to the Chair where he was reclining and linked to the wounded and ailing AI of Tir na nOg which was crippled but flying in space.

"John? John, can you hear me?"

He opened his eyes, body going slack as Moira came into view. He flinched, but this was his Moira, the real woman who had a bruise on her jaw and tears in her brown eyes. She touched his face, gently ran her fingers along his jaw as she leaned close, so close her breasts brushed along his arm. "Moy?" he croaked. He felt dizzy for a moment and sweat made his clothing stick to every line of his body. "Where…pink? Pale pink and sheer?" He glanced along her body.

Moira smiled as relief was a welcome emotion. "John. Are you okay?" She freed him suddenly, but he caught her hand in his lap. "Sorry. I was…"

"You were what, exactly? Copping a feel? I am so going to return the favor, baby." He touched her jaw. "What happened? Did I…" He appeared shocked at the thought that he had hit her.

"No, I'm fine. I fell. Are you okay? You did it, John! We're flying but we are oh!" She gasped as the city lurched and the lights of space were a stream.

"Hyperspace." John settled, closing his eyes. "We're going to Atlantis, but this ship is highly unstable. I just hope that we make it one piece."

"Wonderful," she noted, looking round before gazing upon him again. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah…just keep your hands on the Chair and me. This part is easy. The hard part will be re-entry. Moira…this city…it was…I mean…she tried to kill me!"

"Never piss off an Irishwoman, John," Moira warned.

John chuckled and relaxed into the flight.

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"He did it!" Rodney was staring at a monitor. There was a blip in the orbit of the planet where Atlantis resided that hadn't been there a moment ago. "He did it! Son of a bitch he did it!"

Teyla and Ronon crowded round the excited physicist as the blip was blinking, marking its location.

"Are you sure that is John?" Richard asked, joining them.

"Of course it's John! I'm reading the energy signatures of that city! It's in orbit around us and quickly descending to our atmosphere too…too quickly." Suddenly Rodney's joy evaporated. "I'm reading massive disruptions, a massive energy output…he's coming in too fast with too much power! I've got to get up there with Reynolds!"

"What do I do with this?" Ronon asked. He was still holding the small container.

Rodney paused in mid-run to whirl and face the Satedan. "Get it to physics! Get it to Radek but on no account open it! Teyla, get Carson ready for a medical rescue!"

"Rodney!" Richard called. The leader of Atlantis was standing on the balcony, staring up at the sky. "My God…"

"What? What is it? I don't have time to…oh my God!"

What was left of Tir na nOg was descending through the planet's atmosphere. It looked like a shrunken version of the Atlantis, with only the central core and spire remaining, encased in a pinkish glow that was the Shield. But the Shield was flickering, fading fast and the city was spinning wildly, tilting like a carnival ride.

"Get up there now! I'll prep for a water rescue! All teams, this is Woolsey! Get Jumpers in the air and on the water ASAP! Sheppard, can you read me? Sheppard, please respond!" Richard was tapping his earpiece, issuing commands.

"He's coming in too fast!" Teyla exclaimed, knowing she should be gathering the medical team but unable to look away from the descending ship. It was like a pink, glowing gem in the blue sky, heading inexorably for the blue ocean.

"He'll slow it down, he'll slow it down," Ronon muttered, clutching the small container tightly as he stared as well.

Rodney seemed frozen in place, a look of horror on his face. "My God…at that trajectory…I'm reading a massive energy overload! The—"

Two things happened at once.

Atlantis automatically raised its Shield, protecting itself.

Tir na nOg screamed and exploded in mid-air.

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"John! John!"

John opened his eyes, exhausted, sore, but he stared at the graphics above his head that the Chair was projecting. There were lines and warnings in a language he couldn't read. "What does that say, Moira?"

She stared up at the projections. "Power levels are growing! The city can't compensate for the additional rush of power all in one place! The ZPMs are overloading, John!"

There was a horrible whining sound that was getting louder and louder and higher and higher.

"Crap! Time to go! Damn it!"

"Wait!" She shoved him back into the Chair as he tried to leave it. "If you stop flying the ship what will happen?"

"It will free fall and crash. It's gonna blow, Moira! It can't compensate for the loss of its sections and the ZPMs are already taxed. We gotta go now before it's too late!" He leapt out of the Chair and grabbed her hand, pulling her into a run.

The ship lurched wildly. Without a pilot the Star Drives sputtered and gravity took over with a vengeance. The ZPMs tried to operate but they were flooded with so much power they couldn't contain it.

John and Moira ran through the city as it began to collapse upon itself.

They ran along the dark and wet hallways.

They ran up the swaying, snapping stairs.

They ran as with a tremendous scream Tir na nOg exploded in mid-air.


	5. Chapter 5

Stargate Atlantis: Pandora's Box5

John was floating. His body was being rocked, rocked, and he was resting on something or someone who was soft and warm. Something or someone was prying at his fingers and he tried to resist, but darkness was a blanket that smothered him and he fell into it.

There was a strange sound. Drip, drip, drip. John opened his eyes and his blurry vision cleared to show him the infirmary of Atlantis. He was in one of the beds, hooked up to an IV drip that was near his ear. He turned his head, surprised to be alive and back home. Moira was prone on the bed next to him.

John sat up abruptly, alarmed, but a pair of hands braced him and kept him on the bed.

"Easy, son. You're all right. You made it, John."

"Moira, Moira—" John stammered, still staring at her.

"Fast asleep as you should be. She's fine, John. She's fine, I promise you."

John finally met the speaker's gaze and relaxed as Carson smiled at him. "You're sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. It was a close call. We found you both in an escape pod, floating on the waves not far from what was left of the wreck."

"Yeah…I remember that…" John rubbed his chin. He recalled the desperate run to the escape pods he had seen on the upper level. He remembered shoving Moira and himself into one, activating the controls and then being blasted out of the ship by a horrific explosion. He sighed, glancing at Moira again. "And she's fine?"

"She's fine. Cuts and bruises, like you have."

"Wish I could say the same for that city." Rodney neared with relief on his face as John met his gaze. "You gave us quite a scare, John!"

"We were all quite worried," Teyla agreed, standing on one side of the bed.

Ronon stood on the other. "I never doubted you."

"Thanks, buddy." John sighed, shrugged. "The ship exploded, didn't it?"

"Yes. There's not much left," Ronon answered.

"You were lucky to have escaped with your life," Teyla admonished.

"I…I thought I could do it."

"You did it, John. The ZPMs couldn't handle the overload and the loss of the other sections created a power vacuum that it couldn't compensate for and the trip to here was too…" Rodney paused as John's eyes were glazing over with disinterest. "Never mind. You got here, John, that's all that matters."

"No. We needed that city to defend us," John argued, sullen. But other things were darkening his mood and he glanced over at Moira again. She was oblivious, fast asleep. He stared at the purplish bruise on her jaw.

"You brought back what was in the city, John. That thing the aliens want." Richard stood at the foot of the bed, eying his military commander with relief and concern. "That gives us an ace, doesn't it? Once we figure out what it is and how it works, that is."

"You mean once I figure it out," Rodney corrected.

"Didn't you say it was a trap?" John asked, meeting Rodney's gaze.

"Yes, a Penning trap but of a kind I have never seen before. Don't worry, we've got it secured and there's no way a matter antimatter collision can take place. The design is quite advanced, actually and the—"

"Whoa, matter and antimatter? Isn't that a bad thing?" John asked.

"Yes, hence the Penning trap to contain it and create a geonium atom..." Rodney paused, seeing the pained expression on his friend's face, one he knew very well. He continued anyway, carried away by his own enthusiasm. "A Penning trap stores charged particles using a homogeneous static magnetic field and a spatially inhomogeneous static electrical field. The antimatter is in the form of charged particles but they are false atoms created in the Penning trap, thus the geonium atoms. This design is ingenious and the size alone is staggering, John! Instead of being the size of the Hadron Collider, for instance, it's the size of a paperweight and prismatic! This is quantum physics at a level that I can't quite reach, not yet, anyway, because I will and once I do I will be able to manipulate the—"

"Can it be used as a weapon?" John asked, finally able to get a word in.

"Possibly. What is more exciting is the potential for a new power source that theoretically could be limitless! Plus the whole Higgs boson particle theory and the mass versus non-mass particle physics which in this device could prove or disprove the existing—"

"Make it a weapon," John ordered, cutting off the physicist before he became too analytical and consequently even more unintelligible.

"What? First I need to—"

"First you need to find out what it is and exactly what it does, and determine if it is a danger to Atlantis in any way," Richard intervened. "We'll let you get some rest, colonel. We did manage to retrieve one intact ZPM…how it survived I have no idea but it did."

"At least we salvaged something," John muttered.

"Off you go, the lot of you! Shoo!" Carson scattered them with a wave of his hands. "Get some rest, John. You'll be right as rain tomorrow, and yes, so will Moira." The doctor smiled a moment, pleased at John's concern for the biologist, a concern that went beyond a leader for a member of his team.

John ignored the doctor's knowing expression and settled back to try to sleep.

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There was a knock at the door. Moira stared at it. She was in her room, after an uneventful day going over countless research and catching up on work she had missed while being on the mission. She sighed and headed for the door, resenting the intrusion. She opened it and stared in surprise.

John was standing there, slouching really as his long, lean body filled the doorframe. He was holding a carton of ice cream, a bottle of caramel sauce and a red rose.

"John?" She stepped aside and he entered the room. "What's all that about?" She shut the door, suddenly nervous and stood looking at it. Romance was the very last thing she had expected.

John stepped to the table and set down the various items. "The ice cream is for dessert. So is the caramel sauce…although I have a different dessert in mind for that," he said with a quick grin. "And the rose is an apology."

She turned to him. "What? An apology for what?"

He stepped to her, oddly serious despite the glint of humor in his green eyes. "Moira." He gently touched her jaw. "For that."

"What? No, John!" She moved his hand away from her. "I fell. You didn't hit me. You—"

"I shouldn't have had you there in the first place, Moira! I shouldn't have placed you in danger like that! But I…I needed you there." He began to pace, unable to keep still as the words poured out of him, colored by emotion, emotions he had been holding back all day. "I needed you to translate the Irish for me. I needed your ATA gene because I knew that our combined ATA was strong enough to fly Turnog here. I needed you to pull me outta there because you were the only one who could get me out of that damn AI interface when it tried to swallow me. I…I needed you, Moira. I need you." He sheepishly eyed the floor, uncomfortable at the admission.

Moira stared at him, startled by his words. The sudden avowal of his feelings had come out of nowhere and she didn't know whether or not to believe him. She bit her lower lip, debating. Finally she moved to him, blocking his random circuit of the room. She touched his chest, hands sliding up his black shirt to his shoulders. She kissed him. "I would do it again, John, to save you. To help you get out of that I would do it again. I…I thought I lost you…" Tears sparkled in her brown eyes. The words were on her lips but she couldn't say them.

She didn't have to say them. John could see the depth of emotion in her brown eyes. It washed over him like a tide and he found himself welcoming it, wanting it. He found himself wanting other things as well.

John's arms slid round her and he kissed her deeply, pulling her body to press into his. "You'll never lose me, baby, so don't you worry. Moira." He kissed her again, then stepped back to playfully tilt his head as his gaze caressed her. "So…doctor…what color are we wearing this evening? I hope that it goes with caramel."

She smiled. She stepped back from him, fingers sliding down to grasp his belt. She tugged and began to pull him towards the bed. "Well, colonel…there's only one way to find out."

John grinned.


End file.
